Internationally recognized National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded clinician-scientist Brian Tsuji, PharmD, stepped into the role of dean of the University of Colorado Anschutz Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in January, replacing Ralph Altiere, PhD, who served at the School for over twenty years and has since returned to a faculty role.
“Twenty years of leadership created an extraordinary foundation for this School,” said Dr. Tsuji. “I am grateful for that legacy and energized by the opportunity to build upon it, chasing excellence, thinking boldly, and moving forward together.”
Together is Tsuji’s theme. Or rather, TOGETHER. Even before his first official day at CU, he met with faculty, staff, and the School’s marketing and communications team to hit the ground running on his “Dream Big” philosophy.
“I want to think big,” he said to the team. “I envision us, our School, united and leading the way in innovation, patient care, research, and education. We are well positioned to climb as one of the most truly exceptional schools of pharmacy in the United States. We will do that TOGETHER.”
On his first official day as dean, Tsuji arrived early with a large CCM hockey equipment bag in tow. The CMM bag signals more about Tsuji than meets the eye. It’s a top Canadian brand, known for supplying professional athletes, world-class juniors, and those who just love hockey. Tsuji, it turns out, loves winter sports and is a self-proclaimed hockey dad. He spent the first week going from office to office, individually greeting each employee, committing names to memory, and delivering gifts from his CMM bag as if it were Santa’s magic sack. His goal? To get to know his new team.
“My door is open, and I mean that literally,” he said during his introductions. “I want to meet you, hear what’s working, learn where we can do better, and figure out how to build what’s next.”
Tsuji comes to CU Anschutz from the University of Buffalo (UB), where he spent two decades shaping the future of clinical and translational science. At Buffalo, he served as Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Sciences, Linda Edelman Endowed Chair in Experimental Therapeutics, and Head of the Division of Clinical and Translational Therapeutics in the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Professor. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, Infectious Diseases Society of America and Society of Critical Care Medicine, and served as Past-President of the International Society of Antimicrobial Pharmacology.
Throughout his career, Tsuji has been recognized not just for what he has accomplished, but for how he approaches the work, bringing energy, creativity, and a collaborative spirit to research, education, clinical service, and leadership.
“The most meaningful progress happens when we bring people together around a shared purpose and are willing to tackle hard problems that change the face of healthcare,” he said. “Especially when the stakes are high and we can create new solutions that can directly impact patients.”
That approach has defined his scientific legacy. Tsuji is internationally known for his work developing new therapeutics to combat antimicrobial-resistant “superbugs,” a growing global health threat. He led the international consensus dosing guidelines for the polymyxin antibiotics (guidelines now adopted by hospitals across the United States and around the world) and continues to lead two large NIH R01 grants as principal investigator. Central to that work is his belief in “team science,” assembling interdisciplinary teams of investigators to submit large center NIH grants to translate rigorous science into better, safer therapeutics for patients.
That same TOGETHER mindset shaped his leadership at the University at Buffalo, where he built the Division of Clinical and Translational Therapeutics from the ground up. Rather than focusing on silos, he brought together PharmD, PhD, and MD investigators, scientists, pharmacy and medical students to tackle complex public health challenges collaboratively. Under his leadership, the division became a hub for interdisciplinary discovery and training, and became one of the national leaders in translational therapeutics in NIH funding.
His commitment to growing the next generation of clinician-scientists is equally impressive. Tsuji led the creation of the nation’s first Master’s in Clinical and Translational Therapeutics and an NIH-funded T35 training program in partnership with the University of Buffalo School of Medicine; initiatives designed to break down disciplinary barriers and reimagine how clinicians and scientists are trained to work together. For Tsuji, innovation in education is inseparable from innovation in science, and both are essential to improving patient care.
“In all we do, we need to chase excellence,” he said.
Chasing excellence is exactly what Tsuji came to do. Throughout his interview process, his countless meetings with CU Anschutz leadership, meetings with faculty, staff, and other stakeholders, he repeated his goal: to bring the School of Pharmacy to a top five school.
Tsuji is positive that he can lead the change. In his first 90 days, he started to put plans into action on both educational and research fronts. His vision is to “bring the world to Colorado.” In his first semester, he welcomed talented leaders across the globe, from Sweden to Kentucky, to support and empower existing leaders in the School.
“The opportunity to enhance and support our amazing faculty is how we will dream big,” he said. “The concrete foundation is set, and I can’t wait for our climb to tell the ‘Colorado Story.’”
Part of Tsuji’s Colorado story is relocating his lab and NIH R01s from New York to the CU Anschutz campus, a monumental task for a world-class team of researchers. The Tsuji Lab for Antimicrobial Pharmacodynamics consists of team members from both New York and Colorado including Research Scientist Shivali Kapoor, PhD; Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Jack Klem, PharmD/MS; PhD students Yang Liu and Lu Han; and Jimmy Tangchittsumran, PharmD student and first-year class president. The lab is developing new ways to fight bacterial resistance by combining research in antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, clinical pharmacology, bacterial genetics, and translational medicine.
According to Tsuji, his lab philosophy is to blend cutting-edge modeling with strong clinical and translational science for efficient drug development.
“In our lab, we work with one goal in mind—to develop smarter, faster therapeutic solutions for patients facing some of the most difficult infections. It’s about translating discovery into real hope,” he said.
Through all of his success, Tsuji keeps his family front of mind. When presenting his vision at the School’s staff and faculty retreat in January, he closed his address with two key words that he says will propel the School forward:
MAXimum HOPE.
“MAXimum HOPE comes from combining bold science with human connection,” he told the School. “When we work together, across disciplines, roles, and ideas, we create the momentum needed to move our School forward and improve lives.”
“Having MAXimum HOPE is who I am, as the term was coined after my 14-year-old son Max and 17-year-old daughter Hope,” he shared. They inspire him each day to continue his work. While he could not be their competitive sports Uber driver of the 300k mile family minivan this winter, he’s doing all he can as a dedicated dean.
“I’ve got a small apartment in Denver,” he said with a laugh. “It doesn’t have a nightstand yet, I’ve got a cardboard box. I’m here to work. I’m here to listen, to meet people, and to build something special together. The furniture can wait. What matters most right now is showing up for the School, learning from our people, and getting started on the hard work of chasing excellence to be the most truly exceptional School of Pharmacy in the U.S. —TOGETHER.”